The United National Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has said that during this coronavirus pandemic, control is being imposed upon the media in many places. Journalists, already under physical and mental stress, are being attacked and cases are being filed against them. In some places the news media is even having to wind up their work.
Media experts say that the risks mentioned by UNESCO are being seen in Bangladesh too.
Today is World Press Freedom Day. The theme this year is, ‘Journalism without fear or favour.’
During this period of pandemic, there have been several incidents throughout March and April of journalists being repressed. On 27 April, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) published a report on the repression and harassment of journalists in Bangladesh during the COVID-19 pandemic. The report said that since the beginning of the emergency holiday in Bangladesh on 25 March, at least 9 journalists were physically attacked and six face charges under the Digital Security Act for collecting or publishing news on misappropriation of relief material.
Outside of those figures, Prothom Alo’s Narsingdi correspondent said that three journalists were charged by the police under the Digital Security Act in the district in Friday and sent to jail. Ghorasal police outpost in-charge, Zahirul Alam, who filed the charges, claimed that the three journalists had quoted him in their reports without actually having spoken to him at all.
The United Nations secretary general Antonio Guterres said COVID-19 has given birth to a dangerous epidemic of misinformation. He said that antidote to this ‘misinfo-demic’ was the mainstream media whose function was to check the stories and publish the facts.
Journalists have been attacked in Narsingdi, Habiganj, Gazipur, Bhola, Patuakhali, Narail and quite a few other districts for reporting on irregularities and corruption in the distribution of relief.
In a statement issued on Saturday, executive director of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), Iftekharuzzaman, called for exemplary punishment f those who were obstructing the free flow of information.
Other than the attacks and cases against journalists, there was even an attempt to obstruct the free flow of information. On 25 March the information ministry issued a notice about monitoring the media. However, it was forced to withdraw this notice under a volley of criticism.
The United Nations secretary general Antonio Guterres, highlighting the vital the role of media during the pandemic, issued a statement on Saturday saying that COVID-19 has given birth to a dangerous epidemic of misinformation. He said that antidote to this ‘misinfo-demic’ was the mainstream media whose function was to check the stories and publish the facts.
Referring to a survey by Italy’s Bruno Kessler Foundation, UNESCO said that during this time, 112 million posts in 64 languages have been posted on the social media and 40 per cent of these come from unreliable sources. That is why people turn to the mainstream media for credible news.
Former chairman of the information commission and professor of mass communication and journalism at Dhaka University, Golam Rahman, told Prothom Alo, “No way should the flow of information be obstructed. This will only give rise to the spread of rumours and false information. Yet even in this time of pandemic, journalists are being assaulted and repressed. In some places media offices have been closed down or the journalists’ wages have been stopped. This will obstruct the flow of information in the mainstream media.”